Pennsylvania

I've been busy catching up on the house since we've been back from our trip. We painted before we left, and I left the house in quite a mess. It almost feels like we've just moved in, and I've got so much to do. It is fun re-arranging the rooms and seeing everything take shape.

Most of our time in Pennsylvania was spent with family. We're the only ones who no longer live there, and our days were filled with getting reacquainted with loved ones. We arrived Tuesday and settled in bed before too long. Wednesday, we went to visit Verne's Grandpa. He celebrated his 94th birthday last Friday, and is doing very well.

After leaving Grandpa we stopped in at Brown's Country Kitchen for lunch. This is the restaurant where I once worked. Verne came in one evening, and asked his friend who the new girl was. His friend told him my name, and Verne told the friend that he was going to marry me. The kids enjoyed seeing where our first encounter took place.

After lunch, we drove to see my grandfather. He held my hand, and Abigail's, and walked us all over the assisted living home. We looked at the flowers, and the children took turns playing songs on the piano for anyone who wanted to have a listen.


Thursday, we visited Verne's grandpa again. He was in good spirits and was surprised to see us two days in a row! We left Grandpa to visit Verne's grandma. Every time we are there we play a game of Trouble on a vintage board.


We stayed for lunch, and had a great time. Grandma is still very spry . She'll soon be 86.
I asked Verne if we could drive through Volant and New Wilmington. He was happy to oblige. We stopped at the old mill, and several shops. Autumn was tickled to see so many Amish up close and personal.

We stopped in an Amish quilt store, too.


From there, we drove to our old home in Grove City where we visited with our neighbors, Mary and Nancy. We lived beside them for five years when the children were very small. They used to call her Grandma Mary. The visit took them by surprise, and they couldn't get over how the children had changed.

We grabbed a quick supper and drove out to see Verne's aunt and uncle. His cousin came over with her three young'uns too.


Friday morning before heading to my parents we stopped at the local hardware store. This has always been a highlight of our visits for they still have an old-fashioned penny candy counter. Only this trip the penny candy was being sold for $4.99 per pound. What a disappointment!

We enjoyed the sunshine and took a walk to see the horses. Daisy was intrigued with them, and they were with her.


I got to visit with my three brothers as well as my parents, my nieces, and my nephew.


We left for home Saturday morning, and boy did it feel good to crawl into bed that night!